My son is 8 and having difficulty concentrating in school. We had him tested for Add and that is not the case. His teacher says he is just immature for his age. Any ideas how I can get him interested in school and help him mature??

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Nicole - posted on 03/04/2009

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one more thing. My son's school had a family fitness evening and a lady came and talked about the finegold experiment. It was about foods we eat and our children eat that foster some of the hyperactivity and behavior disorders. If you want to look up some information on it. I hope I spelled it right

Hi, My daoughter is 8 also. She has had the same problems. ADD is sometimes hard, one doctor says yesyou need meds the next says no. One thing you can do to see for yourself is try to give him caffeine with no sugar. If he seems to mellow and focus, he may have mild ADD. If he gets more out of focus and jittery he has no ADD. Caffeine works oppotise on ADD adults and children. My daughter uses caffeine and aromatherapy tools. Without even telling her teacher she noticed an improvement. This has turned into a great year.

I am having similar problems with my 6 year old son, although his teacher is not so understanding and has referred us to the school councillor. When I ask my son why he is not doing work in class, he says that he hasn't had time or that he is bored! The teacher is only mid twenties and I believe her inexperience is part of the problem.

I have been giving my son omega 3 capsules twice a day and have noticed a vast improvement in concentration. I find giving him goals to work towards like trips or treats is helping too as incentives to work at school.

It seams to me reading other comments that it is naturally a boy thing and people are all too ready to give these children a label that stay with them for the rest of their lives. All they need is abit more time and attention.

My daughter was the same way in second grade. To add insult to injury, she cried every morning and hated going to school. After fighting all year, begging for testing academic and psychological, to which the school would not comply, dealing with behavior issues at school, etc. I discovered that she was not being taught! She had no math skills at the end of the school year. Her teacher had absolutely no classroom management skills. VISIT HIS CLASSROOM!!!! It might not be him at all! He might be lost, not understanding and feels why bother! Don't believe everything the teacher reports. investigate yourself! Hope this helps!

well my son is 8 he will be 9 in july but he does have ADHD but we do alot of those games like memory or those picture finds it helps him with concentration and also anything that makes him think hard and focus on things like paper planes or small projects he likes them and it helps him focus ;-)

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Tracy - posted on 03/05/2009

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When my son was in grade 1, he was having alot of the same issues. I am a person who goes to the chiropractor, and at the same time my son was having headaches so I took him to the chiropractor also. In doing his profile, I mentioned feedback from the teacher about his lack of attention in class. Through a series of adjustments, which she said also involved his lack of focus - he gradually settled down in class. His teacher noticed the improvement but couldn't explain it. When I filled her in she was surprised and impressed. He finished the year with 7 out of 10 A's! Do your research and find a chiropractor you are comfortable with - you'll be surprised with the results! Oh, and he doesn't get headaches anymore either.

Wow what state do you live in. That is way too much homework. They are in school all day and then to have that much. No wonder he has a lot of enery. When does the poor thing get to run around. My daughter is soon to be 7. She "day dreams or talks" in school. Her teacher is retiring after this year. It has a lot to do with the kid teacher relationship I think. My older daughter now 9 is doing much better now in 3rd grade. It does take time, but by third grade they seem to calm down and focus better. Is he reading, math etc with the majority of the class. I don't see how they can hold him back unless he is really behind not just "immature"? Don't let the system label him. Have you thought of home schooling him next year and then bring him back to school the following year. I don't know if it is an option for you. I know a mom who alternates her kids 1 year public 1 year home school. They are very bright and well adjusted kids. Unfortunately I work, but I find some of the school systems in Illinois to be lacking. Good luck!

You may want to have him checked by a behavioral optometrist. My son is 9 and was diagnosed adhd but medication didn't help, and neither did any of the other things we tried. We have found out that he has a visual processing disorder and his eyes don't track right and he takes in too much visual information. With the use of special glasses and visual therapy is doing much better! He has even now been called gifted, I never thought that would happen!

Hi, yes, my son was in the same boat at that at age. At 11 he still is, in some respects. As boring as he finds school work, he has learnt that is not an excuse for not doing work. Life is made up of gritty bits that we don't like, it doesn't mean he can avoid them by skulking out of it. Providing you have cleared any medical problems, that it.

We try let the rest of his life be more to his liking, books, toys, recreation, etc. But school work must get done with some effort, and after that his time is his. You cannot make a fuss every year that he doesn't get a teacher he doesn't like. He needs to learn how to manage day to day life as best he can. Allowing him to refuse to work because it doesn't fall right into his lap is setting him up for failure.

Funny thing, school is a lot less boring now that he is on top of the work.

Hi, sorry to hear your son is having problems. Just out of interest look up Aspergers Syndrome, my son had similar problems and was diagnosed with AS when he was 9 yrs old. This might not be the case at all, but worth looking up. Hope you find a solution x

Our immature/ADD/ADHD/waste of human life/waste of my time/will never amount to anything little boy had Obstructed Sleep Apnea Disorder and had to have his tonsils removed so he would reach the REM and sleep more that 4 hours a night.

Oh, those were their words, not mine. After the third grade teacher decided he was below average, too, we re-opened a child study and luckily we got a different rep from the Gifted and Talented department who agreed that my gorgeous, wonderful, brilliant, awesome, incredible son (my words, not theirs) should be tested for G&T. The darn teacher protested. We won and through testing proved just how smart his bored and under stimulated little butt really was. His teacher was not capable of providing for children who are above average or require something other than drooling on themselves.

I haven't read all of the replies but perhaps you should look into the diet he is eating now and how his attitude changes with different foods. I am a big fan of Dr. Amen and if you are not familiar with him and his studies you can read about him on his website. http://www.creativityatwork.com/articles...Good luck and I hope this helps.

Have the Doctors checked for an auditory delay? My cousins son ws diagnosed with it about a year or so ago. He would hear what was being said, it just took a while for him to process what he should do. Just a thought.

Have the Doctors checked for an auditory delay? My cousins son ws diagnosed with it about a year or so ago. He would hear what was being said, it just took a while for him to process what he should do. Just a thought.

I've cried and cried over this with my son too. It's so frustrating to know your kids the smartest ever ;) and have so little success, That does seem like a lot of homework. My son's teacher lets him turn things in late if he needs to, just as long as she's kept in the loop and it's apparent that we are trying to get things going. Maybe you could work to turn it all in on mondays r something and use the weekend to work? I also used Hooked on Phonics at home over the summer to get my son caught up in reading and comprehension. ( I know it's a cliche` but my son really gained alot from the program)

Thanks guys! I have creid until I cant cry anymore. They want to hold him back and like someone said in one of the post below..Im afraid its not going to do any good. I forgot to mention that he is an only child and I have spoiled him rotten..I know bad on my part...but I also know that he is not dumb...he does great at home when its just him and me but put him in a group and he just cant concentrate. H ehas a wonderful teacher and Im very thankful for that and we have him tutored once a week every week. His tutor says he is immature too. And he really doent care anything about having friends over. Hes afraid they will mess up his room...HA HA HA!!! Thanks for all your suggestions. I will try them and in the mean time keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Im just at my wits end.

Is his teacher understanding? That is the MOST important part of this puzzle. There are alot of boys who have this problem. http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisingboys/ always seems to help me when I'm feeling frustrated by my smart son's extreme lack of intrest in school. At least it makes me feel better.

Just like the other families here, my son and I do "school" at home during the summer every day for a an hour or so and have a very set sit down time for reading and homework every night. His teacher also set up a tutor for him through the school to give him one on one time with someone who can pratice good school behavior!! My son loves Star Wars and so his teacher and I worked it out where everything can relate to star wars somehow. I could regail you with all the thing I do, but really it's different for every person.

I have a 13 year old son who was also "labeled" when he was 7. The doctor and teacher suggested we put him on ADD medication. I didn't know enough to request the proper testing and went along with it. At 9 he was the shortest in his class and had only grown 1/2" since going on meds. I immediately consulted a new doctor who suggested taking him off the meds - that helped. My point is that he wasn't immature or ADD as they thought - he was flat out bored in class. He's now at the top of his class and in high school level courses in the 7th grade. Hang in there, and find out what your son is interested in and gear what you do with homework towards that. Keep in constant communication with the teacher and reward him for paying attention & staying on task. Help the teacher by sharing what you find out about the way your son learns. We are all different and learn in different ways. Good Luck & hope I've helped!

I had a retired school teacher tell me little boys are slower to mature and need some time. I thought my oldest and my now 9 year old were going to drive me crazy. Both boys reached 9 and suddenly took off reading and doing well in school. We never stopped reading and one summer the boys liked the show back yard habitat so we made one. We studied all the animals and insects we could find. Last year we monitored lady bugs and kept records. We built a rocket and planted a garden. I made it into a "science project" We included reading and Math and science. It was alot of fun...

My son is bright but has trouble focusing sometimes. He needs to be kept busy. To help with this I advised to the teacher to give him things to help her with in the class. This ensures he gets his work done and gives him things to do to channel his nervous energy

Hi. Boys at this age can be tough to get interested in school. You are smart to talk to the teacher. That should make a difference. Once she knows that you are interested in doing your part, she will likely take a greater interest. Here are two stories that might help.

My older brother got held back in school for grade 1, we lived in a small community so when he did grade 1 the second time he didn't do any better...when he went on to grade 2 he did amazing...the grade 1 teacher tried to say maybe ADD then he was just immature and not ready....but really it was just the teacher that he didn't like.

If your in a big enough school you can talk to the principle and see if he can sit in on another class of his age group and see how he does.

You may need to test his learning style. Most schools teach the same way, content, memorize, listen, sit still. That is not normal for every child. That's why our schools are broken, public and private, they only teach 1 learning style. Search "learning styles", and a ton of strategies will pop-up. You may be able to assess him yourself. Just keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with your son and do not let anyone label him. Good luck!

My son is also 8 and he is having the same isssues. It isn't because he is immature, it is just that he has a lot of energy! Practice with him on focusing by saying his name and "Focus". Tell him to get his work done first, then he can talk and play. Practice homework with him every week night. My son hates this, but it is helping him get better. When they know how to do it better, it seems like they don't mind doing it as much. Invite friends over that are the same age. One at a time and play games with them and evaluate your sons likes and dislikes. My son LOVES nature, so when I work with him in the evenings, I do things that involve nature. Read books that are nature related, do crosswords that are nature related, math problems that are nature related... The list goes on and on... I hope this helps!